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Ventura/Early Career
Climbing the Ranks on Victory Prior to being posted to a starship, Ensign Aresee Ventu was sent to the processing center at Starbase 118, where she was to undergo a final simulated mission to ensure her readiness for a deep-space assignment. That cruise took place in one of the base's holodecks, under the guidance of Lieutenant Commanders Cura Stone and Solan. The simulation placed Aresee in the role of counselor with a group of six other cadets. The cadets and their commanders were to explore a fictional Bajoran transport, the Shabtai. During the simulation, Aresee was instrumental in discovering that the ship had been disabled by Cardassians, although it was noted in her file that she broke away from the group and struck out on her own, in violation of standing orders, to make her discovery. Still, she passed the simulated exam, and she and a few other new crewmen were made available to the USS Victory. ''Victory's New Counselor On stardate 238208.27, Aresee is officially welcomed aboard the ''Victory as the new chief counseling officer. Her first order of business was to ask the vessel's new first officer, Commander Robin Phoenix, about allowing her sister, Alexa to come aboard with her. Alexa had traveled to Starbase 118 with Aresee, but Phoenix firmly upheld the rule barring families from Intrepid-class starships, and Aresee had to send Alexa back to Earth. This, coupled with the stress of adjusting to shipboard life, caused Aresee to have a major breakdown during her first few days on the ship, necessitating an emergency transport to Sickbay. Although she recovered fully, the embarrassment of the incident lasted a lot longer. Aresee came aboard just as the Victory was preparing to depart for its mission to Tanuga IV. As counselor, Aresee was assigned to gather cultural information en route, and, once there, observe the behavior of one of the Tanugan dignitaries. During a surface crisis, Aresee was borrowed by the Victory's CMO, Lieutenant Julia Harden, and assigned to a triage team planetside. She protested that she had only minimal medical knowledge, but that apparently qualified her, and she was placed as head of a triage team over her own dissuasions. On the planet, Aresee left her duty post after both their complex and the Tanugan city were attacked. Her stated goal was to assist two orphaned Tanugan children, but while trying to coax them back to her triage unit, she was captured by an unknown entity which initially threatened her with death before relenting and just taking her hostage. Despite deep-mind probes and many hours of meditation, she is currently uncertain what happened while she was a hostage. Aresee was rescued by a team from the Victory and returned to the ship's Sickbay. There, she spent several weeks off-duty and in technologically-induced resting periods, regaining her health. Family and Wet Feet Following the Tanugan mission, and after recuperating and returning to active duty, Aresee is rewarded for her work and duress with a promotion to Junior Lieutenant (January 17, 2383). The Victory's next mission took the crew to the border of the Trinity Sector, near both Romulan and Klingon space. The goal of the mission was to recover a platoon of marines whose ship had, officially, "wandered off course" and ended up near the (officially) abandoned Romulan Celipentha Station. In Aresee's personal life: Following her breakdown during the previous mission, she returned to using more meds than she liked, but the stress of starship life made it a necessity. Also, she met Junior Lieutenant Sameth Koveski , a transporter officer who flirted with her. Although she initially rebuffed his advances, she found herself annoyingly flattered by the attention. With initial reconnaissance, the crew discovered that Celipentha Station was far from abandoned, and was serving as a base for the Romulan Tal Shiar. Commander Phoenix, now serving as the Victory's CO, ordered infiltration teams assembled, and arranged for cosmetic surgery for everyone on such a team. The result? The command crew of Victory as Romulans. Aresee was assigned to Alpha Team along with Junior Lieutenant Ben Hunnicutt, Victory's chief engineer, and under the command of Lieutenant Commander Julia Harden, the chief medical officer. The team's objective was to locate the missing marines and disable any security equipment or personnel on the way, making it possible for Beta Team to arrive and evacuate the prisoners. The untimely arrival of Aresee's mother threw the whole mission off. Matilda had arrived on Victory just as the senior staff had left, keen on visiting her daughter and refusing to take "no" for an answer when she was told not to follow them. On the station, everything is proceeding smoothly until Matilda comes boards and, after finding the station far from abandoned, proceeds to launch into a violent search for her daughter. Aresee once again defies her orders and strikes out alone to find her mother. After their safe reunion, mother and daughter joined up with their evacuating comrades. Apparently, a bomb had been placed on the station by a force other than the Romulans or the Starfleet teams, and their teams escaped just before the station imploded. Back aboard Victory, Aresee refuses to speak with her mother, and locks herself in her office. Matilda makes the most of the ship, however, enjoying its holodecks and lounge ... until, whilst in the lounge, she is approached and kidnapped by a strange device. While observed by everyone in the lounge, no one can adequately explain why or what had transpired - Matilda Tayler-Ventu had simply vanished. Following increasing bouts of depression in late April 2383, Aresee relieves herself of duty and spends all her time in her quarters. Early in May, Aresee receives a message from her mother, relaying that Matilda is safe and is living approximately two hundred years in the future. Although still angry, Aresee once again masters her emotions and returns to active duty. Aresee is approach by Sam Koveski again. He was present for Matilda's abduction and was instrumental in the ensuing investigation, and she tells herself that those things make him a good person when she decides to sleep with him. Phased! Aresee is awarded with another promotion when she returns to active duty, this time to full Lieutenant. She retains her position as head of the counseling department. In June of 2383, the Victory experiences shipwide systems failures, thanks to its malfunctioning bio-neural gel packs. Aresee is stranded on the bridge with Captain Phoenix and a few junior officers ... at least, until an energy overload causes an explosion, during which time Phoenix disappears. Aresee is temporarily placed in command. Following the reactivation of ships' systems and the successful recovery of all personnel, Aresee takes a leave of absence to return to Earth, where her father is taking her mother's "long vacation" a lot harder than she is. Two months later, Aresee returns to active duty. She and her junior counseling officer, Ensign Ryan Devin, attend a conference before rendezvousing with the Victory at Starbase 118. While en route, their runabout is attacked by an unknown vessel, but with assistance from the starbase, the vessel is destroyed, and they arrive safely. After embarking upon the Victory's next mission - escorting some Bajoran diplomats - Aresee receives a message from her mother than the next few days will be "very important" to both her and her timeline. Aresee relays the message to Captain Phoenix, and the captain agrees with Aresee that the best thing to do is to continue with the mission as planned. While in the Victory's lounge, Aresee is attacked by unknown assailants before being "phased out" of temporal sync: She can still hear and see those around her, but they can't interact with her. Once phased, she discovers that a woman named Aurelie Trenet is responsible, that Aresee's life was in danger, and that - since her assailants can phase at will - that she wouldn't have been safe anywhere on the ship. Aurelie explains that she works with Aresee's mother in the future, that she's a temporal field agent, and that she's on the Victory to preserve the correct timeline, whereas Aresee's assailants want to rewrite it for their benefit. Aurelie's phasing device is destroyed by her enemies, leaving both women effectively invisible and vulnerable to said enemies. Their only hope is Captain Robin Phoenix, who establishes a faint telepathic link with Aresee. She manages to guide the captain to a location and, with a Victory-crew-designed device that should return them to normal, are again attacked. This time, though, it's by a group of aliens Aurelie calls "Collectors," and whom kidnap Aresee, Aurelie, Captain Phoenix, and Aurelie's enemies. Using Aurelie's knowledge, the three women escape from the Collector ship, leaving the opposing temporal agents behind, and return to Victory. Back on Victory, the new device and Captain Phoenix's link are used in conjunction to re-phase Aresee and Aurelie. After the trying temporal mission, Aresee is granted a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. =Command Positions on the Constitution= In late March 2384, Captain Robin Phoenix announces that she is retiring from active service. Starfleet decides that, as an older vessel, the Victory should be decommissioned, and her crew assigned to other vessels. Among with several others, Aresee is assigned to the USS Constitution-B, a Galaxy-class ship. Alexa, who had been visiting Aresee on the Victory, agrees to transport Aresee to the Constitution aboard her personal ship, the Vajra. Once there, Alexa is welcome to stay, as the Galaxy-class is large enough to accommodate families. The Vajra is stored in the Constitution's shuttlebay and Alexa prepares to stay with her sister. Upon her arrival, Aresee finds the Constitution a hive of chaotic activity - former first officer Commander Daydan Taboo is taking over as her CO , and former second officer Lt. Commander Victoria Yladro has been upped to the position of first officer. This leaves the 2O spot open, and when Daydan offers it to Aresee, she happily accepts the promotion. However, the position soon frustrates Aresee, as it carries little formalized duties other than general command support. Her first assignment finds her working with Lieutenant Emirry MacGowan, the Constitution counselor, which frustrates her further, and following her first staff meeting aboard the new ship, she stays to discuss her concerns with Daydan. Daydan clarifies that she is free from a departmental designation, but that she functions as department head for all departments. However, since the Constitution's operations officer is on leave, Aresee offers to fill in there, as well. While aboard the Constitution, Aresee makes a discovery that triggers equal parts excitement and embarrassment: Nick Parks is serving on the Constitution, as a lieutenant in its science division. The first meeting is understandably awkward, but subsequent meetings find the two warming to each other again. Indeed, even Alexa, when introduced to Nick, finds herself enjoying his company. The Constitution's first mission takes them to Angel One, an independent colony petitioning for Federation membership. Aresee is tasked with preparing the reception and banquet for the visiting dignitaries while Commander Yladro leads an away team to the planet's surface. At first, everything goes easily, almost boringly, until.... After she's completed preparing for the banquet and reception, Aresee heads below to visit Nick in his private lab. This proves to be a lucky move, as a group of raiders from Angel One beam aboard shortly after and dispense a knockout gas through the Constitution's ventilation. Nick's lab, like the other science labs, operates its own atmosphere reclimator to deemphasize accidents, and the two are spared. However, when they emerge, they find the crew incapacitated and the raiders on the bridge - and now alert to their presence. Thwarted at every turn, the pair head for Engineering, and manage to take control down there. With ships' systems safe from the raiders, Aresee and Nick head towards the bridge. They're joined by Junior Lieutenant Katlin Uria and Alexa, and the foursome are able to overpower the raiders, transport them to the brig, and re-awaken the crew. Order is restored on the Constitution and the banquet is to go ahead as scheduled. Aresee, with Nick's help, put on its finishing touches. Indigo Haze, leader of the raiders, is scheduled to attend the banquet, a move which Aresee protests - and rightly so, when Haze attacks Counselor MacGowanin the corridors just before the event begins. Haze is thrown in the brig with the rest of her party, and the banquet proceeds on schedule. Both the banquet and reception are a success, though Angel One's bid is ultimately denied, thanks in part to its demonstratedly stratified populace - they are invited to try again in a year's time, after the more radical constituents are either granted their own governing system or subscribe to the prevailing system. Nick receives a promotion to lieutenant commander, and Aresee is asked to sing at the banquet by Daydan, and the resultant high it puts her in forces her to excuse herself from the banquet early and return with Nick to her quarters, where they open and consummate a new relationship. postcoitally, they discuss Aresee's career, Nick's promotion, and Aresee's name change. Aresee decides that one chapter in her life has come to a close, and she returns to using Lily as her first name. The Constitution heads for Risa following their departure from Angel One. Although both the trip and the relationship between Lily and Nick are last minute, the two are able to find a luxury room at Sunfall, a resort overlooking Suraya Bay. They settle in for a week or two of leave time. On Risa, Lily is approached by a man named Ven Jemtil, who announces himself as a friend of Aurelie Trenet, and a fellow temporal agent. He gives Lily a cryptic warning regarding Nick - no good will come to either, now that they're back together - and departs. She keeps the warning to herself, but Nick finds her behavior towards him has changed and he confronts her. She spills the warning, and he tells her that he doesn't care what's in the possible future, because he won't leave her. ]] Lily is summoned back to the ''Constitution by Daydan, who informs her that she's wanted on official business. Once there, he further explains that she's been offered the position as first officer on the USS Triumphant, a Defiant-class vessel assigned to the Ithassa Region. Lily accepts, with one caveat: Nick has to come with her. Daydan agrees to put through the necessary reassignment paperwork, and Lily prepares once again to leave a crew made up of her friends. Alexa takes the Vajra and preps her own departure; she's headed back to Earth to stay with Jarin. Because Lily is needed immediately, she departs from the Constitution in a shuttlecraft, after a hasty conference with Nick where the two promise to meet in a week on the new ship. =New Places, New Faces (The Triumphant)= ]]In the middle of June 2384, Lily arrived on Deep Space 17, the hub starbase for the Ithassa Region. She left the Constitution's shuttle to be autopiloted back to its mother ship and reported to the docked Triumphant. There, she encountered her new commanding officer, Captain Rhys Bejain, while he was repainting the walls of his office. He welcomed her aboard, and informed her that her official acceptance would be staged at a banquet that night. Following the banquet, Lily's first act as first officer was to retrieve Ensign Tal Tel-ar, a security officer, from the station's detention center. After his release, she was also responsible for disciplining him instigating the brawl he was incarcerated for taking part in. Nick arrived within the week, and after discussing his past assignments with Captain Rhys, he was assigned as the Triumphants's chief operations officer. As a member of the senior staff, he was offered his own quarters, but he and Lily decided to share her larger (but still fairly tiny) executive quarters instead. The Triumphant's first mission involves the Free Trade Union, an Ithassa-only group previously unknown to Lily. The Federation was interested in establishing trade with the F.T.U., and they've assigned Captain Rhys, a former diplomat, to engage in trade negotiations at the F.T.U.'s base, the Asterospolis. Lily's first experience in leading an away team comes after Rhys briefs the crew en route and informs them that his contact within the F.T.U. has been murdered. Lily is tasked with covertly exploring the Asterospolis, although she doesn't make much headway until she's approached by an Orion woman. The woman, who introduces herself as Captain Elos, invites Lily and her team to a more secure location in one of the Asterospolis's shadier districts. There, Elos and her sister Merina inform them that while they supported the trade talks, others within the F.T.U. didn't, and it was one such person who murdered their contact. Elos suspects a high-up in her opposing party, Captain Brol Isak; her suspicion is all but confirmed when Captain Isak makes a wide-band announcement that he is about to attack the Federation's Wheeler Colony. Abandoning the trade negotiations, the Triumphant rushes to Wheeler, hoping to beat Isak's ship there. However, his ship, the Kojatak, is a modified Dominion battleship with a cloak, which means it's both faster than the Triumphant and undetectable to the Federation vessel. The Triumphant arrives at Wheeler to find the attack over, and most of the colonists wounded or dead. More surprising still, Isak's ship is simply orbiting the colony, not making any effort to continue to attack, to attack the Triumphant, or to attempt to escape. Captain Elos's vessel, the Guardian, appears and offers assistance, but this appears to be a signal for Isak, who contacts the Triumphant and informs Captain Rhys that it was the Guardian that attacked Wheeler; the Kojatak and her crew had just arrived, and were willing to offer assistance. Although implausible, neither Isak's story nor Elos's alibi are immediately admissible or dismissible, but both captains agree to allow Captain Rhys to serve as arbiter as everyone attempts to ascertain exactly what happened. Captain Isak beams over to the Triumphant to meet with Captain Rhys. Meanwhile, Lily oversees the relief efforts for the colony. Using the resources of the Triumphant and Wheeler's own support vessel, the Yellowknife, Lily's able to offer some help to the colony. She liaises with Magistrate Connor Ashmore, first from orbit, and then directly, when she beams down to the surface with a small away team. However, when the Kojatak appears to be taking up an offensive posture, the team is immediately removed. Despite the fact that their captain's still aboard, the Kojatak engages the Triumphant, damaging many of its systems and knocking out several important officers - both Rhys and Isak are left unconscious in Rhys's ready room, with all entrances blocked and the transporters offline. Lily takes emergency command and manages to hold the Kojatak at bay - at least, until several boarding parties beam aboard and kidnap her and half the remaining senior staff. In the Kojatak's holding cells, Lily and the others are rescued by an undercover of Elos's crew, another Orion woman named Vala. With Vala's help, Lily and her team slowly make their way to the command center of Isak's ship. Back on the Triumphant, Nick is left in emergency command. Still a scientist at heart, he finds himself completely unsuited to leading the ship during a crisis situation. Even worse, he lacks an experienced command staff - many are incapacitated, more have been kidnapped, and Junior Lieutenant Quinn Reynolds, the chief engineer, is leading an away team to the worse-off Yellowknife, taking CMO Prox and pilot Will Hart with her. Vala helps Lily's team disable the Kojatak's shields so they can beam over, and also helps them send a message to Elos's Guardian, asking for help. Lily returns to the Triumphant as the Kojatak gears up for battle again; although its shields are just being reassembled, the vessels arrayed against it - the Triumphant, the Yellowknife, and the Guardian - are all small ships, and already battle-worn. '' under attack]] Nevertheless, the allied ships make a glorious stand against the Kojatak. However, it seems like it may not be enough; even with their captain on the Triumphant, his ship is shooting to kill. In a last, desperate maneuver by Quinn Reynolds, the Yellowknife is set on a direct collision course with the Kojatak. Lily beams away its acting CO at the last moment, saving Quinn and finally destroying the Kojatak. Rescue ships from the F.T.U. and Federation arrive. Elos and the Triumphant part ways; the Guardian is being escorted back to the Asterospolis, and the Triumphant is headed back to Deep Space 17. Although the loss of life and equipment was great, the rescuers who arrive are confident that the Wheeler Colony itself will be back on its feet and no time and a replacement for the Yellowknife dispatched immediately. En route, Captain Rhys and others remain in medical stasis while Lily remains in transitory command. Compounding her difficulties is Nick, who appears different following his temporary flirtation with battle and command. When Lily finds messages on his computer terminal - very familiar messages, she observes - signed "Hayden," she confronts him, and asks if he's cheating on her. He both confirms and denies it: He's not physically or emotionally attached to anyone else, but helping Hayden has been a project of his for while. Hayden Reynolds, cousin of the Triumphant's own chief engineer, was lost with his ship, the USS Kestrel, many years ago. However, no debris was ever discovered, and the ship and its crew remain officially listed as missing in action. Nick, however, has discovered that the ship was not destroyed, and is trapped in a pocket of subspace, unable to move or break out or contact anyone. Thanks to his earlier research, in which he bounced messages around subspace in similar bubbles, he found Hayden by accident, and has been working since before the Constitution on a way to bring the Kestrel home. The mystery's explained, but things don't go back to the way they were. Neither Lily nor Nick feel the way they did on Risa, and neither can explain it. They agree to let it sit for now, to go about their shore leave as they see fit, and to hopefully cool down. Back on Deep Space 17, the crew leaves the cramped Triumphant for some much-needed leg-stretching. Captain Rhys and the other injured members of the crew undergo intensive healing at the base's medical facilities, and the surviving crew has recovered within the week. After his recovery, Captain Rhys makes a disturbing announcement: He has been reassigned to Bajor and the Triumphant is being decommissioned. Starfleet would prefer to keep the Triumphant's crew active in the Ithassa Region, though, and so many of them are reassigned to the USS Independence-A, including Lily. However, due to a lack of command positions on that ship, Lily is offered the position of chief medical officer. She grudgingly accepts, though she fears it may be too far outside her experience area. Nick, however, will not be joining her. Given his recent research into subspace theory, he's being kept on Deep Space 17 as a science specialist, with a full lab and a staff. As such, both he and Lily come to the mutual conclusion that an end to their relationship would be best. Lily, along with Lieutenant Quinn Reynolds and Junior Lieutenant Tildaen Ethelwin board a runabout bound for Starbase 118, where the Independence will pick them up. Category:Ventura